15th European Film Week 2019 in Eritrea

05.11.2019

European film weeks have a longstanding tradition in Eritrea. Every year a selection of European movies is screened in the country, using the language of cinematography to bring Europe closer to Eritreans. The 15th European Film Week was organised this year in Asmara from 19-26 October in the prestigious Cinema Asmara, and the week after, on 29-31 October in Mendefera at the National Union of Eritrean Youth & Students Hall. This year's film week was special, in the sense that the target audience of all 15 films was children. Among the them were animated films, such as 'Leo da Vinci' or 'Cat City'; true classics, like 'Robinson Crusoe'; and all time favourites, like 'Tintin'; just to name but a few. All films were contributed by Member States.

Children are often considered to be the best audience. The reception of these films in the movie theatres served as clear testimony to this. Altogether, at the two sites (Asmara and Mendefera) more than 7.000 thousands children from local schools attended the screenings during the 10 days, which, in many ways a measure of success and outreach.

This year's festival was organised in cooperation with the Eritrean Ministry of Education and Commission of Culture and Sports and benefitted from the valuable support of the Italian Embassy in Asmara and, of course, the contributions made by Member States.

The "European Film Week" has become one of the biggest European cultural events in the country. It is a concrete contribution to efforts aimed at celebrating European Cultural Heritage.

Our gratitude is extended to everyone who has contributed to the organisation of this festival.